Ask the expert: Jerry Angelo

Jerry Angelo is a former personnel director for the Bucs and former general manager of the Bears. Each week, Angelo answers your questions regarding the NFL. Send your questions to GarySheltonsports@gmail.com with "ask the expert'' in the subject line. The most interesting questions will be selected.

Thursday, 4 a.m.

Rookie DeShone Kizer is set to be Cleveland’s 27th starting quarterback since 1999. Do you think the Browns are doing the right thing by starting Kizer, who is 21 years old, already? Does he have something that Johnny Manziel and Brady Quinn didn’t have?

Yes. He’s as athletic as Manziel, but he's much bigger and stronger with more arm strength. Kizer may be immature, but he’s not crazy, as what we found Manziel to be. He’s more accurate than Quinn with the same or better arm strength. He's certainly more athletic.

I like the makeup of Kizer, physically speaking, and he’s a very bright guy in the class room. Why he wasn't drafted higher had more to do what people heard

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than what they saw. He is clearly the best quarterback on the Browns roster and has the talent to be a very good quarterback in the league.

He, more than any other quarterback in last year's draft reminded me of Cam Newton. The difference in the two, Newton won a national championship and Kizer struggled to win for the Irish late in games. He didn’t have the same ‘it’ factor as big Cam. So we’ll see. The Browns head coach is a quarterback expert, so we’ll get a good read on him as well.

I see former Packers great Jerry Kramer finally is a nominee for the Hall of Fame. What’s taken Kramer so long to be invited to the party?

I’ve never been a big fan of Kramer. In terms of being a legitimate candidate, I thought he was more hype than deserving. He was a good player, but not a great one.

The championship game that was played on ice in Green Bay, really put him on the map. Again, that’s not to say he wasn’t a fine player. I just don’t put him in the category of the others on that team who went to Canton.

The Bucs scored only 33 points in their first three preseason games. I know it’s practice, but would you be concerned that the team hasn’t shown any sizzle on offense?

I would be a little concerned, but not overly so. They are developing and evaluating a lot of players, like most teams. So, there are going to be things that will take priority over planning.

It’s the game plan and emphasis on match-ups and getting the ball into the hands of your playmakers goes on the back-burner during preseason until they know what their roster is going to be on opening day.

Both John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin have signed contract extensions this off-season. We all know Bill Belichick is the No. 1 coach in the NFL, but who else is in the top five?

You have to go with Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, John Harbaugh and Mike McCarthy. Reid’s the only one that hasn’t won a Super Bowl, but you have to respect his overall record.

How much do you think the loss of wide receiver Julian Edelman will hurt the Patriots? Wasn’t he one of their glue guys?

Absolutely he was, but it will be a minor loss given the trade they made with New Orleans for Brandin Cooks.

He’s a dynamic player and may give them more than Edelman, particularly downfield. In some ways they will be better, particularly if Gronkowski can stay healthy most of the season. The Patriots always seem to lose a key player on offense, but you rarely see the absence of that player affecting their games.

The Jets have announced that ageless Josh McCown is their starter for the 2017 season. If you were a ticket buyer, would that excite you?

As a Jets' fan, the only thing I’d be excited about is next year’s draft and the strong likelihood we may have the overall number one pick in the draft. The fact the quarterback at USC could be the real deal and if so, will most likely declare for the draft, as an underclassman.

That’s about it for the fans who wear green and white.

I know quarterbacks get all the cash. But does it seem right that the Lions gave Matthew Stafford $135 million over five years? Did they overpay, or is that just the price of quarterbacking these days?

The system has gotten ridiculous in regards of what teams have to pay to keep their quarterback.

The system is stacked. Whoever is up next to get paid at the position, gets paid the most money regardless of how he compares to his peers at the position. To me, that’s absurd, given the money they consume on the team’s overall cap. It would be understandable if they were a franchise quarterback such as Rodgers, Brady, Rothlisberger or Brees.

I get that, but to pay the Staffords of the world that kind of money makes no sense. He hasn’t won anything and when the Lions got to the playoffs, it was because of their defense. The reasoning is based on the value of the position, not the production. The rationale is the antithesis of what works for other position players.

Which NFL division stacks up as the most interesting in 2017?

To me, it’s the NFC South. All those teams are interesting. They have marquee quarterbacks on each team and all have solid rosters, particularly on offense, to dominate on Sunday.

The one who plays the best defense will win their division and right now that looks again like Atlanta.

Bobby Beathard did great work for the Redskins. With the Chargers, however, he drafted Ryan Leaf. So do you think he deserves to go into the Hall of Fame as a contributor?

Absolutely. Bobby was ahead of his time. He was imaginative and took advantage of every loophole he could to put together a dynasty in Washington.

He should get in, solely on his hire of Joe Gibbs and don’t forget Bobby Ross. Bobby was never afraid to go against conventional wisdom. He did his own thinking and did it out of the box. I have great respect for him and he's a really good guy.

Former FSU reeiver Anquan Boldin retired last week. He’s ninth in receptions and 14th in yardage all-time. But does he strike you as a Hall of Fame player? A lot of receivers seem to be waiting.

To me, Boldin was a special possession-down receiver. He does deserve consideration given the stats you mentioned. Those are strong numbers.

He’s not as good as Cris Carter, who I would liken him too. But he should be in the conversation. He was a great player in my mind. No one played with more passion and toughness. That has to count for something.

To close it out, let’s do our college-to-pros game. This week, let’s go with LSU: Is your favorite-ever Tiger a) Leonard Fournette; b) Y.A. Tittle; c) Bert Jones; d) Billy Cannon; e) Odell Beckham. As always, you are free to pick another player if you wish.

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About Gary Shelton

• No one covers Tampa Bay like Gary Shelton.
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